Saturday, 16 October 2010

A Dance with Dragons nearing completion

Spectra senior editor Anne Groell, when inevitably asked about A Dance with Dragons, had this to say:

"We're hoping to have a finished manuscript by Christmas. He's told me he has five chapters left and bits of each chapter are done. He really wants it done by the end of the year. We really—I mean really—want to announce the pub date in January."

Given that much of the manuscript is said to have already been 'locked' (edited and ready to go, in other words) it seems that a publication date in 2011 is definitely a possibility. While it looked at one stage that the book would be even longer than A Storm of Swords (1530 manuscript pages), it seems likely to be shorter now as some chapters have been moved to The Winds of Winter instead.

It'll be interesting to see how the US and UK editions are published; to my knowledge, A Storm of Swords was released in one volume in the US and in two volumes in the UK (in paperback), so a repeat of this is certainly possible.

Another issue that remains murky but will become clearer with time, is whether the series will exceed seven books. GRRM has insisted that he doesn't want to exceed this number of books, but with chapters being shunted from A Dance with Dragons to The Winds of Winter, it's possible this will also happen with chapters being moved from The Winds of Winter to A Hope of Spring, which if course will eat up space in the final volume for fresh material. Only time will tell whether this will become a problem.

8 comments:

If it's as long, or longer, than STORM OF SWORDS then it will definitely be split for paperback publication in the UK. Having spoken to the powers-that-be at HarperVoyagers this is because their printer is not able to (or won't) publish a paperback novel that size (regardless of what the US publishers printer can/or is prepared to do).

I'm as enthusiastic as anyone to get my hands on ADWD, but I won't believe it really is finished until I see it in the book stores.

As for the exceeding the seven books total, I think I'll save my estimation later. If GRRM manages to start closing the threads in ADWD, he might succeed in sticking to the seven books plan. But if he continues expanding the sub-plots and introducing new characters and places, I probably start thinking that ASOIAF could end up being as long as, say, Jordan's or Eriksson's book series.

I was merely comparing the possible length of ASOIAF to that of Erikson's series. I wasn't trying to argue that following the original plan is the thing. A plan is only a plan, the results are what matter, were they in a form of trilogy or a longer book series.

"this is because their printer is not able to (or won't) publish a paperback novel that size (regardless of what the US publishers printer can/or is prepared to do)."

Slightly embarassing for HarperVoyager though, as Bantam UK have no problem with Erikson's books which are in the same ballpark, or Macmillan with PF Hamilton's books, or Diana Gabaldon's UK publisher with her (considerably longer) books. This excuse is, it has to be said, slightly weak considering this will be the UK's biggest-selling fantasy novel of 2011.

"Except Erikson said he was writing a ten-book series from day one. Martin said he was writing a trilogy. Fail much?"

Except Erikson's series has swollen from 10 to 22 novels, including a prequel trilogy, a 'sequel' trilogy (albeit one that is addressing major storylines in the core series that have been left hanging) and five books written by Erikson's mate.

@AdamWhitehead - exactly. I actually pointed out to them the PFHamilton books and suggested that they use that printer but was told 'no'. I am unsure if HC own the Printer they are using or simiply under contract but regardless it's confusing.

Robin said:"I'm as enthusiastic as anyone to get my hands on ADWD, but I won't believe it really is finished until I see it in the book stores. "

my thoughts exactly.

and I'm waiting for the worst to happen: Martin passes away half way throught writing the final novel, and the pub hires Kevin J Anderson to finish it, and Anderson immediately announces there will be 3 more books in the series.

"I actually pointed out to them the PFHamilton books and suggested that they use that printer but was told 'no'. I am unsure if HC own the Printer they are using or simiply under contract but regardless it's confusing."

Probably a contract. However, Voyager could face a backlash over this. Back when ASoS came out, very few people got books online and didn't know about other options. This time, forewarned, people can get the hardcover or tradeback (both of which will be cheaper than buying two mass-market paperbacks, though Voyager make more money from the hardcovers) or even get the one-volume mmpb American edition from Amazon or Forbidden Planet.

"and I'm waiting for the worst to happen: Martin passes away half way throught writing the final novel, and the pub hires Kevin J Anderson to finish it, and Anderson immediately announces there will be 3 more books in the series."

Kevin J. Anderson is not coming anywhere near this series. If he even tried, he would be tied up and burned at the stake, and not a judge in any country would say it was wrong to do so.

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Speculative Horizons is a UK-based blog dedicated to discovering the best in speculative fiction. Here you'll find book reviews, author interviews, artwork for upcoming releases, and commentary on all aspects of the genre.

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A child of the eighties, I was raised on a steady diet of Ghostbusters, Thundercats and Transformers. I eventually discovered fantasy books via the awesome Fighting Fantasy series, and my love of fantasy led me to create Speculative Horizons, a popular book review blog I ran for three years. In 2010 I joined Orbit to work as an editorial assistant.